Wintel Mini PC SoC's compared - what Wintel Mini PC to choose?

We've seen a lot of Intel-based Windows 10 Mini PC's in the last two years and it looks like we're about to get many others in 2018, as new devices (such as Minix Neo N42C-4) are announced.

What's interesting is the fact that these new devices tend to be more powerful (and also more expensive), and they eat up a chunk of the home desktop market, which was already in decline.

And it's not surprising : the "Wintel" Mini PC's are powerful enough to cover most activities home users might enjoy : browsing, watching movies, light gaming. And they are small in size, mostly fanless and much cheaper than the full-sized desktop PC's.
With most web traffic (even on this website) coming from mobile devices, people are using less and less the traditional desktop. And most people, unless they are hardcore gamers, simply don't need more processing power.
These devices don't clutter your desktop also, as many of them are either HDMI dongles or can be hidden away behind the TV or monitor using the VESA mounts.

Let's review for a bit the Intel SoC's used for the Windows 10 Mini PC's currently available on market.

Atom® x5-Z8350

Celeron® J3355

Celeron® J3455

Pentium® N3450

Pentium® N4200

Pentium® J4205

Launch Date

Q1'16

Q3'16

Q3'16

Q3'16

Q3'16

Q3'16

Manufacturer cost

$21.00

$107.00

$107.00

$107.00

$161.00

$161.00

Cores

4

2

4

4

4

4

Threads

4

2

4

4

4

4

Base Frequency

1.44 GHz

2.00 GHz

1.50 GHz

1.10 GHz

1.10 GHz

1.50 GHz

Burst Frequency

1.92 GHz

2.50 GHz

2.30 GHz

2.20 GHz

2.50 GHz

2.60 GHz

Cache

2 MB

2 MB

2 MB

2 MB L2

2 MB L2

2 MB

Scenario Design Power

2 W

?

?

4W

4W

?

Thermal Design Power (TDP)

?

10 W

10 W

6 W

6 W

10 W

Max RAM

4 GB

8 GB

8 GB

8 GB

8 GB

8 GB

GPU

HD Graphics 400

HD Graphics 500

HD Graphics 500

HD Graphics 500

HD Graphics 505

HD Graphics 505

GPU Frequency (base/burst)

200 MHz/500 MHz

250 MHz/750 MHz

250 MHz/750 MHz

200 MHz/700 MHz

200 MHz/750 MHz

250 MHz/800 MHz

GPU Execution Units

12

12

12

12

18

18

The downside? Most devices, even many of the most expensive ones, have a 32GB ROM, which means that you will most likely need to carefully watch over the space Windows and the programs are using.
This is because Microsoft's licensing terms are forcing the manufacturers to actually pay for the Windows 10 license if they go over the 32 GB limit.

I've deliberately did not include old SoC's (like Z3735F and Z8300) or SoC for which there are not many devices on the market (like N3350).
If you're looking for a new device you should consider buying one with the newer SoC's.

While we're on the subject, let's see a curated list of the most interesting Windows 10 Mini PC's using one of these SoC's.
This list will be updated with new devices.

32GB

ROM

2GB

RAM

GPU

4

CPU

Higole Gole10

OS

Wi-Fi

LAN

100M

CHIPSET

Intel Atom Z8350

Rating

4 -
1

Higole Gole10

The Higole Gole10 Mini PC was just launched and will arrive shortly for a review here on MiniPCDB.

It's actually the third generation of quirky tablet PC/Mini PC combo from Gole, and I've reviewed the other two as well here.
The Gole10 comes with a larger screen size and a better SoC, the Intel® Atom™ x5-Z8350 - more on the differences will be revealed in a future article.

The 2GB version is available right now on GearBest for $168.99 - or $148.99 with coupon code GBG10.
The 4GB version will also be available soon.

32GB

ROM

4GB

RAM

GPU

2

CPU

ACEPC AK1

OS

Wi-Fi

LAN

Gbit

CHIPSET

Intel Celeron J3455

Rating

4 -
1

ACEPC AK1

The ACEPC AK1 looks a lot like the HP Elite Slice, with a modular design - the HDD bay connects to the main unit via an USB Type-C connection and can be removed entirely.

As for SoC, you can choose between Celeron J3455, Celeron J3355 or a Pentium J4205, which makes the device quite interesting.

Best price for ACEPC AK1 is currently on GearBest for $153.99 (flash sale), or if you're lucky the coupon code GBAK11 might help you to drop the price to just $129.99.

32GB

ROM

4GB

RAM

GPU

4

CPU

Minix N42C-4

OS

Wi-Fi

LAN

Gbit

CHIPSET

Intel Pentium N4200

Rating

4 -
1

Minix NEO N42C-4

The Minix N42C-4 might not be available yet (and the production is late), but the specs are quite impressive : Pentium® N4200, 4GB of RAM (upgradeable to 8GB), SATA M.2 slot, type-C, Windows 10 Pro.

We should post a review for Minix N42C-4 in the next few weeks, so check back later.

32GB

ROM

2GB

RAM

GPU

4

CPU

Z83II

OS

Wi-Fi

LAN

Gbit

CHIPSET

Intel Atom Z8350

Rating

4 -
1

Z83II

The brand-less Z83II Mini PC has a large number of favorable reviews - uses the Z8350 SoC, comes with a good price, but just 2 GB of RAM, which should be enough for Windows 10, but it might prevent you from keeping the 10+ tabs open in Firefox.

Nevertheless, it's cheaper than the Windows 10 license it has, so it deserves a spot on this list.